Helping NJ Residents in Flood Zones [AUDIO]

Billions of dollars have been spent to help Sandy victims recover from the superstorm that slammed the Garden State 19 months ago, but now some Central Jersey residents are wondering if they've been left behind and forgotten.

"One of the most major mitigation projects in state history has been done for Bound Brook, and the flood mitigation plan for Bound Brook has helped the circumstances in Bound Brook significantly," Christie told a caller from Somerset County. "More money has been spent on that than on any flood mitigation project we've had pre-Sandy. If you look at some of the flooding that's occurred recently, Bound Brook used to be the epicenter for that flooding when we had that type of episode, and you have not seen that of late."

The governor said the state continues to single out homes that may be candidates for buyouts.

"We've also identified 200 homes in Manville to buy, with both HUD CDBG (Housing and Urban Development Community Development Block Grant) money and hazard mitigation grant money through the DEP (Department of Environmental Protection)," Christie said. "We are using some of that Sandy money, and using it to buy out homes in Manville."

He then said the state can only go so far on its own, because major flood mitigation projects are simply too expensive.

"If you're talking about some enormous Army Corps of Engineers plan, that's going to cost billions of dollars," the governor said. "That's not something the state's ever going to do without significant partnership from the federal government."